The class of 2014

Another breeding season has come to an end and I have finally gotten around to updating the blog.

Young BHG on Blue Circle Island - notice the colour-ring

It seems to have been a successful year and this is reflected in fact that it has also been a good year for the study, with the number of young birds ringed increasing from 93 last year to 142.
  

Colony	No. colour-ringed
	2013	2014
RSPB Blue Circle Island, Larne Lough	61	62
Copeland Islands	26	19
WWT Castle Espie, Strangford Lough	6	61
Total	93	142

Although it is still very early days, having data from 2013 and 2014 does mean we can now produce a graph! Everyone loves a graph.

Number of birds ringed per colony in 2013 (blue) & 2014 (red)

As with last year, I had hoped to also ring on the National Trust islands in Strangford Lough, but once again the National Trust wardens reported that the BHG colonies on the Lough have had a very bad year. Most colonies collapsed and only one or two islands holding any sort of reasonable number of birds. 

Better news from the west from Brad Robson, with the colony on the RSPB reserve in Lower Lough Erne increasing once again, standing at just over 1000 pairs now.
 

As always, many thanks to Copeland Bird Observatory, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and RSPB for granting permission to ring on their reserves.